Can you build muscle after prostate surgery?

Restoring your muscle strength has numerous benefits and are exercises that speed up your recovery post prostatectomy. Glute bridges are an effective and safe way to start strengthening up the muscles around the lower back and hips.

onlineprostate.physio - 10 Exercises For Recovery From A Prostatectomy

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Returning to your normal exercise routine can be met with some challenges following a radical prostatectomy. It’s quite common for men to experience small amounts of pain, urine leakages and a loss of motivation or fatigue during exercise. However the benefits of being active outweigh the risks of doing any harm. Here we outline a suitable routine for men to get back into exercise for recovery after a prostatectomy. Best of all you won’t need any equipment to get started!

1. Walking: 30 mins

Getting out for a walk is a great warm up for this routine and a good way to ease into getting active again. Most men will feel a bit sore in recovery, therefore this can safely get the heart rate up without putting too much pressure on your surgical site. Activities such as cycling, running or swimming can take a while to return to comfortably. Despite this it is still important that you’re getting enough physical activity by building up to the recommended weekly levels at a minimum.

2. Cat & camel: 1 x 20 reps

Starting off with some mobility exercises for your thoracic spine will allow you to move with greater freedom, especially if you’ve been less active and sitting around more often than usual after surgery. Be sure to complete these slowly in fluid motions, aiming to get full range of movement.

Camel pose *

Cat pose *

3. Thread the needle: 1 x 15 reps (each side)

Again, more mobility for your thoracic spine but this time by adding in rotation movements. This exercise will feel great in your upper back to reduce joint stiffness. If you have a foam roller this can be helpful to get more range of movement. Push down on it with the back of the forearm during the rotation movement.

Thread the needle *

4. Hip flexor stretch: 3 x 15 sec holds (each side)

You might feel sore and tight around your hips and abdominals after surgery from having many incision sites around the area. This stretch hits the area and works to combat the issues associated with spending more time sitting down during recovery. However it is important to remember to complete gently as there is potential to aggravate your surgical sites.

Hip flexor stretch *

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5. Glute stretch: 3 x 15 sec holds (each side)

This stretch hits the tightness that you’re sure to have around your hips by targeting the glute muscles. Despite what will most likely feel really good, it is still important to be sure that you’re not aggravating the surgical site if it’s still early in recovery. If you aren’t feeling it in your glutes remember to draw your knee towards your opposite shoulder.

Glute stretch *

6. Glute bridges: 3 x 20 reps

Whilst it’s important to focus on muscle tightness and the stiffness of your joints with stretches, it’s equally as important to build up your strength. Restoring your muscle strength has numerous benefits and are exercises that speed up your recovery post prostatectomy. Glute bridges are an effective and safe way to start strengthening up the muscles around the lower back and hips. Start with an amount that you can achieve without being too easy and build up the number of repetitions.

Glute bridges *

7. Step ups: 3 x 20 reps (10 each leg)

Step ups are suitable to start building leg strength as they don’t place great demands on your body with only small ranges of movement. Plus it’s easy to see how it transfers over to being able to better complete normal daily tasks. The idea with this exercise is not to complete repetitions in order to get the heart rate up. It is preferable to do a smaller repetition range that requires more strength to lift yourself up. To achieve this your step height matters most or you could hold additional weight in your hands. To make things more difficult, see if you can complete all the repetitions whilst keeping one foot planted on the step before switching over.

8. Birddogs: 3 x 20 reps (10 each side)

Yes that’s what they’re called! This exercise is a favourite because it requires a lot of mental effort if you haven’t done them before. Moving your opposite limbs at the same time challenges stability and will improve your body awareness. Developing a greater ability to transfer strength from your upper to lower body places a lot of demand through your midline and improves core strength. Give this exercise a try to see how you go. Tip: think of a glass of water sitting on your lower back and trying not to spill it!

Birddogs *

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9. Superman’s: 4 x 5 reps

Superman’s are deceptively challenging and are placed in here for those of you who are handling recovery smoothly. This emphasises your posterior muscles to improve posture and overcome some back aches that you might be getting after surgery. It’s best to complete this exercise on an empty bladder and once you have a degree of control with your continence.

Superman’s *

10. Pelvic floor exercises: as individually prescribed

Every man following prostate surgery needs to complete a pelvic floor program suited to their individual needs and abilities. Pelvic floor exercises are the most important for recovery after a prostatectomy. This is to help to overcome urinary incontinence as quickly as possible and aid a return to normal erectile function. As we’ve written about the pelvic floor extensively, we have previously outlined how to perform a pelvic floor contraction and 5 ways to complete pelvic floor exercises if you’re having difficulty getting started. That wraps up 10 exercises to complete to help kick along your recovery post prostatectomy. Try this exercise routine and adjust according to your ability and symptoms if you have any. Ideally you could complete this up to 2-5 times per week to help progress your recovery.